Program information notification device, television receiver, program information notification method, program information notification program, and recording medium

• US 8,881,200 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2011
• Issued: 11/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Watanabe, Ryuhsuke, Kawaguchi, Yukimi, Minehara, Aya, Ogasawara, Yoshiyasu, Uesugi, Shunsuke
• Primary Examiner(s): SHANG, ANNAN Q
• Application Number:
  US13/976,324
• Publication Number:
  US 20130305293A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,042 Days
• Field of Search: 725/50, 725/53, 725/58, 725 37- 49, 725/51, 725/52, 725 54- 57, 725 59-116, 725131-142, 709/229
• US Class Current: 725/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4755 for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 End-user interface for client configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73

Abstract

A television set (100) includes a determination section (330) and a notification section (340). The determination section (330) determines, as program information to be notified to a user, a plurality of pieces of program information each of which matches a search condition set beforehand, from among a plurality of pieces of program information. The notification section (340) notifies the user of the television set (100) of the plurality of pieces of program information thus determined by the determination section (330).

Claims

1. A program information notification device comprising:

a determination section which determines, as program information to be notified to a user, ones of a plurality of pieces of program information each of which matches a search condition set beforehand, from among the plurality of pieces of program information; and

a notification section which notifies the user of the ones of the plurality of pieces of program information thus determined,

the notification section sequentially notifying, one by one, the user of (i) a first predetermined number of pieces of program information, each having a broadcast date which is a current day, to be preferentially displayed and then (ii) a second predetermined number of pieces of program information, each having a broadcast date which is a following day, to be preferentially displayed, from among the ones of the plurality of pieces of program information determined by the determination section,

after notifying the user of (i) the first predetermined number of pieces of program information and (ii) the second predetermined number of pieces of program information, the notification section notifying the user that there are third and fourth program information, having broadcast dates identical to respective of the current day and the following day, in a case where the third program information and the fourth program information further exist, respectively.

2. The program information notification device as set forth in claim 1, wherein

the notification section notifies, at startup of the program information notification device, the user of the ones of the plurality of pieces of program information which have been extracted.

3. The program information notification device as set forth in claim 1, wherein

the notification section displays a list of the plurality of pieces of program information which have been extracted, in a case where a given operation is conducted by the user while the plurality of pieces of program information which have been extracted are being notified to the user.

4. The program information notification device as set forth in claim 3, wherein,

the list is a list of a plurality of pieces of program information each having a broadcast date identical to a broadcast date of a piece of program information that is being notified at a time when the given operation is conducted.

5. The program information notification device as set forth in claim 1, wherein,

in a case where a plurality of pieces of program information, having identical start times, are extracted, the notification section notifies the user of the plurality of pieces of program information a given time before the identical start times.

6. A program information notification device as set forth in claim 5, further comprising

a channel selecting section which makes a channel selection so that the user can view a program of a piece of program information that is currently notified to the user, in a case where a given operation is conducted by the user while the plurality of pieces of program information having identical start times are being notified to the user.

7. The program information notification device as set forth in claim 1 wherein

the notification section (i) does not notify the user of any program information on a program to be broadcasted on a day of a week which is set beforehand as a non-notification day of the week and (ii) notifies the user of program information on a program to be broadcasted on a day of the week which is set beforehand as a notification day of the week, among the ones of the plurality of pieces of program information determined as program information to be notified to a user.

8. The program information notification device as set forth in claim 1, wherein

the notification section does not notify the user of any program information on a program to be broadcasted via a channel which is set beforehand as a non-notification channel, and notifies the user of program information on a program to be broadcasted via a channel which is set beforehand as a notification channel, among the ones of the plurality of pieces of program information thus determined as program information to be notified to a user.

9. The program information notification device as set forth in claim 1, wherein,

in a case where a given operation is conducted so as to carry out a given function while a plurality of pieces of program information are sequentially being notified, the program information notification device carries out the given function with respect to a piece of program information that is currently notified.

10. The program information notification device as set forth in claim 9, wherein

the given function includes at least one of channel selection, recording, display of detailed information, and split of a screen.

11. The program information notification device as set forth in claim 1, wherein,

in a case where no search condition is set, the program information notification device notifies the user of a message prompting the user to set a search condition.

13. A television receiver comprising a program information notification device recited in claim 1.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium in which a program for causing a computer to operate as each means of a program information notification device as set forth in claim 1 is stored.

12. A program information notification device comprising:

a determination section which determines, as program information to be notified to a user, ones of a plurality of pieces of program information each of which matches a search condition set beforehand, from among the plurality of pieces of program information; and

a notification section which notifies the user of the ones of the plurality of pieces of program information thus determined,

(A) at startup of the program information notification device,

the notification section sequentially notifying, one by one, the user of (i) a first predetermined number of pieces of program information, each having a broadcast date which is a current day, to be preferentially displayed and then (ii) a second predetermined number of pieces of program information, each having a broadcast date which is a following day, to be preferentially displayed, from among the ones of the plurality of pieces of program information determined by the determination section,

after notifying the user of (i) the first predetermined number of pieces of program information and (ii) the second predetermined number of pieces of program information, the notification section notifying the user that there are third and fourth program information, having broadcast dates identical to respective of the current day and the following day, in a case where the third program information and the fourth program information further exist, respectively, and

the notification section displaying a list of a plurality of pieces of program information each having a broadcast date identical to a broadcast date of a piece of program information that is being notified, from among the ones of the plurality of pieces of program information thus determined, in a case where a given operation is conducted by the user while the first predetermined number of pieces of program information each having the broadcast date which is the current day or (ii) the second predetermined number of pieces of program information each having the broadcast date which is the following day are being notified to the user,

(B) in a case where the determination section determines a plurality of pieces of program information having identical start times,

the notification section notifying, one by one, the user of the plurality of pieces of program information a given time before the identical start times, and

a channel selecting section of the program information notification device making a channel selection so that the user can view a program of a piece of program information that is currently notified to the user, in a case where a given operation is conducted by the user while the plurality of pieces of program information having identical start times are being notified to the user, and

(C) in a case where a non-notification day of a week and a notification day of the week are set for the program information notification device,

the notification section (a) not notifying the user of any program information on a program to be broadcasted on the non-notification day of the week and (b) notifying the user of program information on a program to be broadcasted on the notification day of the week, among the ones of the plurality of pieces of program information thus determined.

14. A program information notification method comprising the steps of:

(a) determining, as program information to be notified to a user, ones of a plurality of pieces of program information each of which matches a search condition set beforehand, from among the plurality of pieces of program information; and

(b) notifying the user of the ones of the plurality of pieces of program information thus determined,

the step (b) including the steps of;

notifying, one by one, the user of (i) a first predetermined number of pieces of program information, each having a broadcast date which is a current day, to be preferentially displayed and then (ii) a second predetermined number of pieces of program information, each having a broadcast date which is a following day, to be preferentially displayed, from among the ones of the plurality of pieces of program information determined by the determination section,

after notifying the user of (i) the first predetermined number of pieces of program information and (ii) the second predetermined number of pieces of program information, notifying the user that there are third and fourth program information, having broadcast dates identical to respective of the current day and the following day, in a case where the third program information and the fourth program information further exist, respectively.